S ING 1002588 Chapter5

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Rendila Restu Utami, 2015

THE PORTRAYALS OF "JOURNEY" IN JOHN GREEN’S TWO NOVELS LOOKING FOR ALASKA AND PAPER TOWNS

Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

This chapter concludes the research by summarizing the entire research as a

whole. Suggestion is also given to the reader for those who wants to further

elaborate the subjects of this research further.

5.1 Conclusion

This research have shown the similarities and differences in the portrayal

of “journey” in John Green's two books (Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns)

and how they contributed to the construction of the main character's identity. The

similarities and the differences in the portrayals of the journey construct the main

character's identity by showing how the journey taken contributed in the changing

of their identity. The similarities of the portrayals of the journey showed that the

journey taken by the main characters is due to a loss of someone. The differences

of the portrayals of the journey create different kind of matured main characters in

the end.

To understand the similarities and the differences of how the two books

uses journey to reflect the stages of change in the main characters' identity, the

writer uses Barthes’Hermeneutic Code and Proairetic Code as tools.

The journeys were seen through the use of Barthes’Hermeneutic Code and

Proairetic Code. The result was that these codes actually shows how the journey

is experienced by the main characters in the two books by pin-pointing the

patterns of clues to the conclusion of the two books.

The similarities of the two book are the fact that both Looking for Alaska

and Paper Towns share similar themes in their beginnings, which are big events

that impact the main characters' (Pudge and Q) identity construction, involving the

two girls, Margo and Alaska. Both novels also share the fact that the two big

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construction. The two novels are narrated by an adolescent male. Also, the two

novels use sections to separate the phases that the main character went through. In

Looking for Alaska there are simply two sections which are quite clear in their

meaning: “before” and “after.” In Paper Towns, three sections are used: “The

Strings,” “The Grass,” and “The Vessel.” However, the way that the story

constructed the change in the main character’s identity was seen through the

difference in the way the journey is portrayed. One journey metaphorical and the

other a literal journey.

These differences are the fact that Green’s Paper Towns is a story about

someone’s beginning that shapes another’s ending and Looking for Alaska as a

story about a person’s ending that shapes another’s beginning. The metaphorical

journey can be discovered in Looking for Alaska. It can be gathered that the

journey to find the cause of Alaska’s death portrayed the changing in Miles “Pudge” Halter’s identity: from the rebellious teenager that could not accept the

death of a friend to a more mature version of himself that can let go of his guilt

and accept the loss. The literal journey can be revealed in Green’s Paper Towns.

Basically, in Paper Towns,Margo’s disappearance was the cause of Q’s change in

identity: from someone who once was so blinded by idea of a person to someone

who appreciate human complexities, both the good qualities and the flaws. The

differences of the two books are that the big events in the beginning which are the

first sections of the books. In Looking for Alaska the girl died and in Paper Towns

the girl ran away. In Looking for Alaska, Alaska’s death became the reason why

Pudge became more accepting about the unknown future and in Paper Towns, Q

is more aware that people should not judge other people when they do not know

them very well.

Both journeys portray different pictures, Looking for Alaska construct a

journey from a tragedy and Paper Towns construct a journey from a mystery.

Looking for Alaskashows how a person’s life started after tragedy hits and Paper

Towns is about coming to a harsh realization after the mystery is solved. Both

novels may both portray journeys but both portrays different kind of journey, in

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Towns “looking ” has a more literal meaning, as mentioned in the second chapter

of this research.

This research reveals that since both novels are young adult novels, they

both portrayed youth initiations. The similarities and the differences in the

portrayals of the journeys construct the main character's identity by showing how

the journey taken contributed in the changing of their identity. The journey, be it

metaphorical or literal, still both contributes to the change in one’s identity. In a sense, each of the main characters from those two books may have different

challenges that they faced but the ultimate outcome is becoming a better version

of themselves after the journey is over, be it a death that made one realize the

importance of letting go or a disappearance that made a person realize that we

cannot impose one’s idea to define another human being, one intrapersonal

change in Pudge from Looking for Alaska or one interpersonal change in Q from

Paper Towns, both journeys are portrayed through the growth in the main

characters.

5.2 Suggestion

John Green’s Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns are good example of books appropriate for teenagers to read, since the books explored issues that can

be easily relatable to the problems that adolescence face. In Indonesia, books as

the means of coping with changes is not a common thing. It can be said that by

using these books, the teenagers cope with the changes through reading. Through

these particular type of reading, they can discover their sense of self and their

place in the world since the adolescence phase is a crucial time in human's life

where one is transitioning from childhood to adulthood.

The writer gathers that if further research can be conducted, the

implication in the educational aspects of the books can be explored, the two books

can also be taught in class and discussed in the class as reading recommendations

(especially in Indonesia), and the books also explore controversial issues so it

would be appropriate for those controversial issues to be discussed in future